Event of the moment:

Join us for an interactive musical lecture on the history of the Negro spiritual! Dr. Naima Johnston-Bush will guide the audience through the development of the Spiritual with a capella ... (read more)

Children of all ages are invited to celebrate heroism and discover the joy of reading through a variety of summer activities!

Reading is its own reward! Register your children for Summer Reading Club at any MCPL location or online. You will receive a log to track their summer reading, and in August, they can report their accomplishments to receive a free book and a book bag!

Staff Reviews / Book Reviews

Check out these book reviews written by the staff of the Marathon County Public Library, featuring reviews of fiction and nonfiction for adults, children and teens! These book reviews also are published at Goodreads.com; follow us for the latest updates.

New York chef Gabrielle Hamilton has led an unconventional life. Although her entire life seems to have revolved around food, it never occurred to her to open her own restaurant until she stepped into a small, abandoned and roach-infested cafe. "Blood, Bones and Butter" is Hamilton's autobiographical journey from juvenile delinquent to celebrated chef and mother. The story is interesting and Hamilton's writing is sophisticated and engaging, but sometimes it feels like she is too honest and too gritty, almost as if she's trying to prove to the reader that she's paid her dues and maybe someone else's. Despite the unflinching and detailed descriptions of the seedy underbelly of restaurant kitchens, she tends to shy away from the flip side of the coin and glosses over the rewards of enduring the pain. Hamilton jumps from experience to experience with little regard to continuity, which can be confusing, but all comes together in a neat package in the end. Her descriptions of food are exquisite, however, and that is definitely worth the price of admission.